Acton's Feud eBook

“No, Phil; not in the least. I owe my life
to this gentleman, who pulled the horses into the
bank before they could reach the bridge.”

Phil wheeled round, his face beaming with gratitude,
but when he saw Acton, pale to the lips, the words
of thankfulness froze on his lips. For one instant
he stared at his old enemy with wonder and amazement,
then, with a gesture of utter gratitude, he said—­

“Acton, I can never tell you how much I owe
you for saving my mother’s life, but will you
shake hands?”

Acton looked at Bourne, whose face beamed with admiration
and gratitude, and then he put out his hand.
In that moment, so honourable to them both, the feud
was stamped out for ever. Fresh as he was from
as glorious a deed as any Amorian had ever done, he
realized that he had been a blackguard towards Bourne
the moment Phil begged him to shake hands.

Phil murmured almost inarticulate words of gratitude;
but Acton, more than a trifle disturbed at his own
thoughts, interrupted hastily—­

“Say no more about it, please, Bourne.
You’d have done as much for any one.”

“Your hands are bleeding,” said Phil,
with immense concern.

“Nothing at all. I think the reins cut
them.”

Mrs. Bourne would bind them. “Of
course!” said she. “How blind of me
not to see that this gentleman is one of your schoolfellows,
Phil.”

The “great friends” looked on the ground
rather guiltily, but Phil cut in with—­

“I say, Acton, you must come and have tea with
mother and me in my den. Can you?”

Acton said quietly, “All right, Bourne.
Thanks, awfully.” Then he added under his
breath to Phil, “If I can come as a friend?”

“On that condition,” said Phil, “I’d
like you to come.”

The trio walked back along the road—­a happy
trio they were, too—­and a melancholy procession
of injured horses and an angry coachman closed their
rear. The tea in Bourne’s room was very
successful, and I should fancy that Hinton did more
hard thinking and hard staring when he saw Acton amicably
seated with his feet under Bourne’s table than
he ever did before. The minute he had permission,
he flew down the corridor, and exploded bombshell
after bombshell among wondering Amorians.

“Acton and Bourne teaing together like two birds
on a bough!” he gasped.

“That would be a funny sight,” said Cherry.
“Birds don’t take tea.”

“Write an epilogue, Fruity. Teaing together
as friendly as Grim and I might.”

“Only that,” said W.E. Grim, with
a genial wink, “my opinion is, that Hinton’s
been on the drink, and seen double.”

Incredulity and wonder were the dominant notes among
Amorians for the next two hours.

Acton and Phil walked to the station with Mrs. Bourne,
and when she had gone to town, and the pair were returning
schoolwards, Acton said thoughtfully—­